United States v. Watson

501 A.2d 791 (1985)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Two police officers saw a stolen car pull into the parking lot. They ordered the driver to stop by shouting, 'Police. Hold it.' The driver of the car, D, jumped out, looked at the officers, and ran toward an apartment complex. Officer Lunning, with his gun drawn, pursued D through the open door of the Davis apartment. Three young girls, 14, 13 and 9, were sitting at a table doing their homework. D asked to use the telephone, and after dialing, he asked if they are still out there? He sat down at the table and held his head in his hands. Officer Lunning entered the open door holding his gun in front of him and told appellant 'Police, you are under arrest.' When D refused to cooperate and grabbed the officer in a bear hug, the officer's gun, dropped onto the floor. D got the upper hand with his knee in the officer's chest and, with his hands, held down the officer's hands. The officer told D, 'It wasn't worth it.' D reached out and grabbed the gun and held it to the officer's chest. The officer repeated, 'It wasn't worth it.' One of the girls then ran back to the back of the apartment, a distance of approximately twenty feet. She was inside the bathroom when, within seconds, she heard a shot. Another girl ran from the apartment, approximately sixteen feet, and heard a shot while outside. D was spotted running from the apartment with the gun. The officer was shot at 36 inches. The officer chased D but fell down. D ran to another apartment and was heard to say he shot a police officer. The officer died. D was convicted of murder. D appealed, claiming that his manslaughter defense was improperly rejected.